


Uncle

by TimidMarshmallow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU i guess?, Ardyn is a jerk, What else is new, all I know how to write is de-age fics apparently, canon divergence for a short time, forced living situation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: Bahamut wants to punish Ardyn, and the best way to do that is with the chosen king.Too bad the Astral didn’t tell Noctis and his friends about this plan. Now the four are stuck living with Ardyn until this stupid spell is reversed.
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had wanted to put this out before Episode Ardyn, but you can see how well that plan went. Lol whatever, at least I am finally posting it now...

“The covenant wasn’t supposed to have imperial interference.” The Archaean’s deep rumble had an uncharacteristic hint of ire. 

Bahamut nodded. “I am aware that there were complications. The Chosen is not to blame. The Usurper’s pawns have messied the prophecy, it is time to remind him that he is not all powerful as he believes.”

“The humanity of one so tainted has long been lost. What could possibly be done to punish one who has never repented? How can one so twisted be taught to act in accordance with the Prophecy?” Titan glanced at the very spot on Angelgard where the prison had held the fallen healer. The many years had done nothing to change his ways. If anything, it made him more bitter, cunning, and bent on revenge.

“The Chosen shall teach him this as well. I am aware that this may be asking too much of the Saviour to Our Star… The youths shall return to the purest form. In the face of such innocence the Usurper will be forced to alter his ways.” Bahamut closed his eyes, and allowed his power to change the king in accordance with his plan.

-o-

The aftermath of Titan had left them with a massive problem.

A certain problem that had a penchant for fedoras and a flair for the dramatic. 

The chancellor had revealed his name as he so graciously swooped in to save them, gasping about how glad he was to have found the boys. Noctis was glaring at Ardyn from his spot on the airship, his friends shifting uncomfortably as they wished for the unwanted assistance to end already. Ignis was demanding their release, but the request was only met with a smug response. 

He basically told them to sit down and shut up until the ride was over. 

The airship was nearing the drop off site that the chancellor had picked when suddenly the air around the king and his retinue began to glow with the familiar blue of Lucian magic. Bahamut’s voice filled the metallic room, but only Ardyn realized who it was. “Chosen, a task most grave I shall entrust to you. Restore even the smallest shred of humility to the Usurper. You shall survive this trial, do not lose hope.”

“Noct? What’s going on!?” “What’s happening??!” “I don’t like this!” 

Noctis had no idea what was going either, and hearing his friends panic was definitely not helping him figure it out. What did the astral mean, restore humility? And why did Titan sound different now? He hadn’t spoken like this to him earlier… Or was this Titan? Could it be one of the others? 

The bright light forced everyone to close their eyes. Opening them revealed why the magic had engulfed the four friends. Ardyn stared, for once not sure how to react yet. 

The men were now children!? 

Ignis, the first to recover from the shock, tried to gain some clarity so he could figure out what had just happened. He looked at Noctis, surprised to see him as a five year old again. Prompto was a bit shorter than Noctis, so maybe he was around five too? Ignis wasn’t sure. He hadn’t met Prompto until the blond was fifteen, so he had no basis for comparison. Gladio still seemed to tower over the three of them. He looked to be about eight, so Ignis guessed that he himself was around seven (if the age loss was consistent, which it appeared to be).

As the advisor took stock of the situation the other three were busy observing their new (old?) bodies. Prompto immediately examined himself, and was pleased to see that whatever magical mishap this was had saved all of his hard work. He was a skinny little thing, a lot thinner than he had been when he was actually a child. Thank goodness he hadn’t lost all his years of running with the change, he would have been upset to end up at square one again with all his friends as witnesses. Noctis was marvelling over the fact that his leg didn’t hurt. He took a couple of steps, and there was no limp. He was thrilled that the change had allowed him to be free of the old injury.

While Prompto and Noctis were relieved about their personal issues, Gladio was furious. How were they supposed to fight like this? He had trained for years to craft himself into the perfect shield and now it was all gone. His arms were as muscle-less as before he started bodybuilding. At least his tattoo had stayed, even though he had gotten it well after childhood.

Ardyn stared at the four Lucians in front of him. HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO FULFILL HIS PLAN LIKE THIS? The hapless prince truly was helpless now, there was no way that he would be able to forge the next covenant like this!! The path to Ramuh was fraught with peril (he had made sure of that, the imperial troopers were everywhere just as he commanded), and there was absolutely no way that the four would be able to fight in this condition. Once again, the astrals were a pain in his life. The chancellor hurried to have the airship change course. He couldn’t let the weak children out of his sight now. If they died now then countless hours of planning would have been for naught. He would never be free.

The Crownsguard and the king stayed where they were. “Noct? Can you ask for us to be changed back??” Prompto wasn’t as well versed with all this divine stuff like his friends of noble birth. Noctis shook his head. “Luna’s the one who talks with them. If I could get a message to her… Maybe she could ask? But how would I even do that? I need Umbra.” 

Ignis pushed up his glasses. “There’s no way of calling him from here. We need another plan.” Gladio crossed his arms. “You got something, Iggy? Please tell us you do.”

“Unfortunately, no.” They were still trapped in an airship, after all. There was only one way to go, and that was down. Ardyn had already made it clear that it was a long fall down, one trip they didn’t want to take. 

As if summoned by the thought, the man himself reappeared. “Change of plans. He said this was a ‘trial’, and that implies it is a temporary condition. Until you brats return to normal, I can not allow you to wander Lucis as freely as you have been. You can thank me later.”

“Thank you!? This is kidnapping!” At the king’s shout they all readied to summon their weapons.

Nothing happened.

“What!?” They tried to summon their weapons again, but the crystal flashes they had grown used to did not appear. They were left standing in fighting poses, but without the means to fight.

It appeared that Noctis’ magic was as weak as it was when he was actually five.

They were back to the waiting game as the airship flew to wherever they were going now. They huddled away from the enemy and tried to come up with a plan. It was rather pointless, Ardyn was eavesdropping and he helpfully provided ways that their methods would fail. They eventually just stopped, unable to plan with him interjecting every five seconds. It didn’t make sense anyway because if he knew the plan then they couldn’t execute it.

It only took fifteen more minutes before the chancellor informed them that they had arrived. Moving closer to the wary group, Ardyn grabbed Prompto’s wrist as the airship landed to ensure the other three would follow quietly. He ignored the panicked yelp and glanced down; the mark was covered, so Ardyn didn’t know what Prompto was whining about. 

“Hey, let go of him! You don’t need to yank so hard, it’s not like we’re going anywhere.” Noctis scowled. Weaponless and in an enemy base, in the weakest forms possible. Great. Just great. Why did the astrals hate them so much? Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio hurried after the man pulling their friend through the imperial base they had landed in. 

“Slow down, I have little legs now and I can’t- aah!” Prompto almost tripped, only saved by the vice-like grip that had caused him to misstep in the first place. Ardyn sighed as he righted the child. “I can’t believe this. After all that I have survived, all that I have conquered… I’m stuck caring for you lot.”

“You don’t need to ‘care’ for us! Let go of him and let us out of here!!” Noctis finally caught up and yanked on the back of Ardyn’s coat to make him pay attention. The chancellor twirled around, bent over so he was right in the young king’s face, and full on sneered. “Oh, yes, I will just let you defenseless CHILDREN head out into the daemon infested, monster riddled world! Go on, go get killed and ruin everything, oh Chosen!” He turned back around and continued walking, poor Prompto still being pulled along by the fuming man.

“Hey, we’re not exactly thrilled about this either.” Gladio was still trying to summon his greatsword, his shield, anything at all as they walked further and further into the proverbial lion’s den. The base was crawling with magitek, and Ignis was still desperately devising escape strategies. There had to be a weak spot or something they could exploit to their advantage. He wished everyone would be quiet so he could actually think! All this bickering, combined with the shock of the transformation and the stress of the situation at hand, was making it impossible to focus. He was lagging behind as it was.

The group was led to the very corner of the base, where a large building was nestled behind a warehouse. “Welcome to your new home for however long this lasts.”

The building was a modular home of sorts. It had been erected for the base’s commanding officer to use. The majority of the army was magitek, but there were a few humans needed to lead the mindless robots. Humans needed more than just storage units, and so each base had a small section for the flesh and blood imperials to stay while commanding the fort.

Turned out the imperials liked to live in style.

The inside of the building was very nice. It looked like a modest home and the Lucians were surprised. It didn’t look evil at all. They had been expecting more of the dull metal that made up the rest of the base, but it actually looked quite cozy. There were proper furnishings and everything. It certainly didn’t match Ardyn’s personality, and Ignis commented. “This decor seems very unlike you, based off of our interactions so far.”

“I did not decorate this hideous space.” He slammed the door shut after all of his charges were inside. Finally letting go of Prompto, he waved his hand dismissively. “The house should have several rooms. I’m loathe to admit I have no say in building these homes, so I can’t direct you in this matter. Run along, I have phone calls to make.” He needed to reposition those troops he had placed along the path to Ramuh. It didn’t make sense to leave his toys laying about if the king wouldn’t be able to play with them any time soon.

Prompto had immediately moved behind his friends as soon as Ardyn’s grip had been relinquished. “Guys? Do you think this place has a bathroom?”

It seemed that the chancellor really was allowing them to explore for now, so the group cautiously did just that. They found what could be considered a living room (it was actually used for military meetings), a kitchen, a laundry room, and a bathroom. They all took turns using it, unsure if they would be free to do so later. Even the bathroom was nice! The soap smelled good and the towels were soft. This place was a lot nicer than some of the motels they had stayed at. 

Potty break taken care of, they continued exploring. They found stairs, and following them up took them to several bedrooms. It seemed the house was built to accommodate several officers. 

“It would be wise to wait before choosing rooms. We don’t know if our ‘host’ will be staying here as well, and I don’t want any of us to end up in a neighboring room. He may not be actively harming us now, but that doesn’t mean we should let our guard down.” Ignis was debating with himself. Should they all stay in one room or split into pairs? The beds were large enough to hold the four child-sized friends, but there was only one bed in each room. 

It would be safer for all four to share. 

He was going to voice his choice when Noctis said the same thing first. “Well, we’re all going to share. If he tries anything then no one will be caught alone.” Prompto nodded. “Yeah, but I thought we were going to try to escape?”

Ignis hummed thoughtfully. “That won’t be possible. He let us wander, which means he is confident that we’re trapped. And he had a point. We can’t fight.” He didn’t want to face magitek or Lucian wildlife while stuck in a child’s body.

“Still, that doesn’t mean we just sit down and act like good little boys.” Gladio scowled. There was no way he would take orders from that creep.

“Oh, you boys really should behave yourselves. As long as you do, I won’t need to punish you.” 

They turned around to see Ardyn coming up the stairs. They had been standing in the hallway outside one of the rooms while discussing what to do next. “It’s getting late. You should come eat something before bed. Growing children need proper nutrition and lots of rest.” The chancellor chuckled and went back down the stairs.

“What are the chances he’s going to poison us?” The whispering blond followed as Noctis led them after Ardyn.

“Prompto, I’m not deaf~ Besides, I already told you. You four can’t die now. I have plans, and I will not allow them to be ruined.” The chancellor waited for the four to sit down at the kitchen table. He opened the cabinet and pulled out some military rations. 

They all grimaced.

Prompto opened the package and made a noise of disgust somewhere between a whimper and a groan. The food looked like the cardboard it had come in, and he wasn’t looking forward to the taste. Noctis just shoved his aside. He wasn’t eating that. He’d rather eat a whole plate of carrots than whatever this stuff was. Gladio cautiously took a bite, and the other three watched his face scrunch up. Prompto shoved his ration away just as Noctis had.

Ignis shook his head and got up from the table. “I’ll handle dinner.” Surely they didn’t expect the officers who stayed here to eat just that? Maybe the imperials were not as well cared for as the house suggested. Ardyn smirked. “With what ingredients? There’s nothing in the fridge. Would you like to go ask the magitek outside for a cup of sugar?”

“There has to be something here besides this…” Ignis couldn’t even bring himself to call it food. Ardyn rolled his eyes. “Wait right here. If you move, then you can head straight upstairs without any dinner. I’ll be right back.” He felt comfortable making that threat, they wouldn’t die from one missed meal. He had honestly forgotten that the cuisine was less than desirable. It made sense. The army officials would have been expected to bring their own food, as it wasn’t wise to store fresh stuff in a house that was in the corner of a robot base. The magitek didn’t eat, so keeping food here to spoil was a waste of resources. Not even the cloned meat from the labs of Niflheim would stay fresh forever. 

He left, and the boys sat there. They could hear the metallic shuffling of what was probably a magitek patrolling the house’s exterior. They were alone, but not really. Prompto fidgeted. “Did he mean that we can’t leave the kitchen or does he seriously expect us not to move at all?”

“Well, he is a major jerk, so he probably meant that we can’t move.” Gladio leaned back in the chair. He had abandoned trying to eat the disgusting ration. Noctis sighed. “You know he’s going to be literal just to be spiteful.”

Ignis took this opportunity to discuss escape plans again, now that there were no eavesdroppers. “Let’s review the facts once more. He has the immediate area surrounded. However, he doesn’t want us dead.”

“Yeah, for this ‘plan’ he keeps mentioning. I don’t like it. What does he mean?”

“Gladio, if we knew that then we’d be closer to getting out of here.” Noctis ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, so he won’t kill us, but I wouldn’t put torture past him.” Ignis added that to the list of things they needed to consider.

Prompto bit his lip. “We really are trapped, huh?” He couldn’t see a way out of this. If they were to go outside they would be caught and possibly tortured by robots. If they stayed here then they were at Ardyn’s mercy. It wasn’t even like they could call- 

“Hey! He didn’t take our phones! Noct, do you still have Cor’s number!?” 

“I should. Let me see.” Prompto clung to the sliver of hope as Noctis pulled his phone out. He dialed the marshal’s number and put it on speakerphone. It rang, and all four stared at the device with anticipation. The phone let out a little jingle, followed by ‘We’re sorry, your call cannot be completed at this time’. The boys deflated. 

“Maybe Cindy?”

“Forget it, Prompto. The phone isn’t going to work.” Gladio felt foolish for believing that there would be an easy solution. No one was going to come for them. “We’re stuck here until this wears off or we age naturally again.”

“Oh no, I’m not growing up here. We’re going to escape. Maybe not tonight, but we are getting out of here.” Noctis angrily pocketed the useless phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Ardyn eventually brought back Cup Noodles from the nearest outpost. “You haven’t moved. Good, I was so worried I would have to send you naughty things to bed hungry.”

As they ate the noodles the chancellor lay down some ground rules. They had to stay in the house (that wasn’t a surprise), bedtime was at seven, no loud noises, no messes, no doing anything that would endanger their lives… 

“Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten how to survive.” Noctis glared, ineffectively. Gladio snorted. “Oh, man, there goes my plan to jump out the window!”

Prompto shrank in his seat as Ardyn stood up. His sardonic laugh did nothing to reassure the nervous blond. “You won’t have time for shenanigans. You will be doing work.” He snapped his fingers, and the door opened. A magitek, the one that had been circling the house, shambled into the kitchen.

“What does this ‘work’ entail?” Ignis knew the robot’s presence was to scare them into submission. The threat was hardly disguised, so he worried about what the man would say next.

“The only work you can do in those pathetic forms. Cleaning.” Any objections were cut off as the magitek’s core began to glow. “I may want you alive, but you’ve made so many friends along your journey… It would be a shame if they encountered a malfunctioning magitek trooper.” Ardyn mimed an explosion with his hands, smiling as he threatened to kill people. 

“You’re sick.” Noctis clenched his fists, there was no doubt in his mind that the maniac would actually fulfill his promise. Ardyn nodded. “Yes, yes, I know. Now off to bed you go.” 

Prompto put the styrofoam container down even though he hadn’t finished his broth yet. The older three reluctantly copied and the group went back upstairs to pick a bedroom. Choosing the one furthest from the stairs, they closed the door and examined what amounted to their holding cell. The room had a bathroom attached, which was good. They wouldn’t literally be caught with their pants down, whoever was in the bathroom would have the others right outside. 

Ignis sighed. “We’d better get ready for bed. He said we’ll be cleaning tomorrow.” 

“So that’s it? We’re really going to just do whatever he says?” Gladio frowned and crossed his arms again, in case they had forgotten that he wasn’t pleased with the situation. Prompto’s hands flew up to his own cheeks. “You heard him, if we’re bad then he’ll hurt people!” 

Noctis looked at Ignis. “Yeah, but what’s the plan here, Specs? How long are we supposed to lay low?” 

Ignis shook his head and pointed at the door. They followed his gaze to the space between the bottom and the floor. The faint shadow of eavesdropping shoes could be seen. They couldn’t speak freely yet. “I told you. We are to go to bed.” 

He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. Gladio turned off the lights as the other two clambered up. He joined them and they all sat as still as possible so the bed wouldn’t squeak. Prompto let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when they heard footsteps moving away. 

Ignis slid off the bed and went to the window. “Gladio, your sarcastic comment earlier gave me an idea. Some assistance, please?” The shield and the advisor opened their one chance at freedom. Noctis pushed to the front. “How high up are we?” It was a good distance, they were on the second floor of the house. 

Prompto dragged a blanket over from the bed. “We could do like in the movies, that thing where they have the blanket ladder out of the window?” 

“It’ll have to do for now.” Noctis took a corner from his friend. “Come on guys, help us move the bed closer to the window.” They needed an anchor for the blanket. Each male grabbed the bed and pushed, but it was too heavy for the child-sized group. “Forget moving the bed, let’s just tie the blanket to the bedsheet.” 

The makeshift ladder was shorter than they preferred, but no one could afford to be picky right now. 

“I’ll go first, and let you guys know if it’s clear.” Gladio shimmied out of the window, and his friends held the blanket steady. If it could hold the heaviest of them then the remaining escape artists would be fine. The shield scanned the back of the house when he reached the bottom and waved up to the others. Ignis went down next, slowly, methodically, as not to fall to the hard ground. 

Prompto looked at the drop again. He gulped, and then lowered himself out of the window. He tried not to think about how easily his tiny limbs would shatter instantly if he fell, he tried not to think about how the other two wouldn’t be able to catch him in time, he tried not to- Oh. He made it down safely! Relieved laughter bubbled up, but he clamped his hands over his mouth. He needed to be quiet, they all did. 

Noctis warped down. 

It seemed that his ability level really was the same as when he was five. While that left them weaponless, it did allow the king to perform his most basic magic tricks. They all kept that in mind as they moved away from their prison. Ignis reminded them to stick to the shadows and remain silent, but the warning was unnecessary.

The four crept past dormant machinery and patrolling metal soldiers. They made it several feet away from the imperial housing area when the entire base lit up. Any inactive magitek buzzed to life and began scanning the immediate vicinity. Ardyn must have discovered that they were out. 

Crouching behind one of the large metal shipping crates littered across the base, the boys tried to figure out what to do now. “There’s no way past all these robots.” Noctis peeked out, ducking back before a moving searchlight could expose him. 

Prompto curled up, pulling his knees to his chest. “What if he hurts someone now because we tried to leave?” Ignis stopped frantically strategizing to place his hand on Prompto’s head. “He had to know we would attempt escape. I’m positive that any harm he threatened was already pre-orchestrated.”

Gladio shushed them all, it sounded like magitek were drawing closer. 

They sat there in the crate’s shadow, jumping at every sound and praying that every soldier that passed would not turn around. 

Unfortunately, one magitek did. It lumbered towards the boys, and they ran the other way… right into another magitek. Frantically backpedaling, they turned to dart between the magitek. It was no use. The robots were everywhere and they were soon surrounded. It wasn’t until Ardyn strolled into view that they realized none of the magitek were shooting. The robots had nonviolently corralled them. 

“Oh, there you are! Children your age shouldn’t be wandering outside at night. Don’t you know there are scary things out here? The floodlights keep away the daemons, but if they were to turn off… I’m afraid the creatures of the night won’t be as gentle as the magitek are.” Ardyn moved closer to the group, and Ignis and Gladio stood protectively in front of Prompto and Noctis. “Aww, how cute.” 

Ardyn turned suddenly and motioned for them to follow him back to the house. 

Gladio wasn’t having that. He charged at the nearest magitek and tried to yank away the axe in its grip. “RUN!” 

Ignis shoved Prompto and Noctis in the other direction to get them started before turning to aid Gladio. “Don’t stop, we’ll catch up!” The advisor ran at Ardyn to distract him as the chancellor ordered the magitek to retrieve the children. Ignis kicked and punched, and Ardyn tried to grab him so he’d stop. 

Prompto was about to help (there was no way that only two shrunken Crownsguard would be able to hold off the imperial forces surrounding them), but Noctis grabbed his arm to force him to follow. “Noct! We can’t leave them back-“

“We’re not! Follow me, I need your help for this!” Noctis let go in front of one of the base’s towers. He pointed to the top and pushed on Prompto’s back. “Get up the stairs, and start firing with the turret gun that’s up there!” 

“R-Right!” Prompto raced up the metal steps, he had to hurry, his friends were in danger! Glancing at the tower Noctis had warped away to, he saw the blue sparkles as his friend teleported up the stairs. It spurred the blond on, and he almost tripped on the top step. 

The tower’s turret was being manned already. Or rather, robot-ed already? 

Prompto cursed as the magitek turned to see who had come up to its assigned post. The boy tried to dart around the soldier, if he could at least get in a few shots to help his friends-

The magitek caught him and picked him up, following the explicit orders not to harm the chancellor’s ‘guests’. Prompto squirmed, kicking and trying to free himself from the robot’s grasp. As he was carried down the steps he turned to the other tower to see if Noctis had fared better. 

He hadn’t. 

There was a magitek soldier carrying him too, and the younger two were brought back to where Ardyn was waiting smugly. Ignis and Gladio were also being held by soldiers, and they were crestfallen when they saw that the other half of the group had been re-captured. 

“Well, that was fun. Let’s go, it truly is bedtime now.” Ardyn patted each of their heads condescendingly as he passed. He repeated his ‘follow me’ gesture, and the boys were carried back to the modular home nestled in the base. 

-o-

“Sweet dreams, little ones~” 

The bedroom door slammed closed, and it with it all hope of escape evaporated. 

Ignis sighed. “Prompto, go bathe first. You’re the youngest, so your body will need the most sleep.” 

“Okay, Iggy…” Prompto didn’t have the energy to convince the older boy that he was fine. None of them were, they were back where they started. Only now they had the knowledge that their efforts were futile. All four of them felt drained. 

Noctis would’ve argued that he needed the most sleep, but Ignis had a task for him. They couldn’t access their weapons through the armiger, but back when Noctis was actually five he would hide normal items in his magical storage. The advisor wanted him to try pulling out their things. 

Gladio watched as Noctis turned red with effort. “You’re going to pop a blood vessel.” 

“Shut up, you’re not helping!” Noctis tried to focus. Prompto came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “What am I supposed to change into? It seems kinda gross to just put the dirty stuff back on.” 

“Noctis is currently working on the solution.” Ignis knew he could do it, at five the prince had played many silly pranks on him with the armiger. So many of his books had gone missing because he had tried to study when Noctis wanted to play. 

“I don’t think I can do-“ A black shirt materialized, and the blue sparkles faded. “Got one. Hold on.” Noctis went back to focusing his energy. He sat there straining to pull more from the armiger. Prompto put on the oversized shirt, just so he was covered. Ignis went in the shower next, and put on the purple shirt that Noctis had eventually managed to call forth. 

“Gladio, I’m exhausted. I can’t pull anything else out. Sorry…” The king sank to the floor, too tired to even continue standing. He still needed to shower, and so did the oldest boy, but there was no way he’d be able to call anything more from the armiger. 

“Ignis, wasn’t there a laundry room in this house?” Prompto fiddled with the hem of the first shirt Noctis had summoned. The clothes they had been wearing shrunk with them, so the group only had one outfit each. Gladio nodded before Ignis could answer. “Yeah, there was. But who knows if we’ll be allowed to use it.” 

Ignis opened the door and peeked out. “I don’t see him, perhaps we’re only allowed to venture through the house?”

Prompto tugged on the extra fabric hanging off of his smartest friend. “I don’t want to walk the house in just a shirt. Everything’s covered, but I feel extra…” He tried to think of the right word. 

“Vulnerable? I understand what you mean.” Ignis turned to the two that still needed to bathe. “Go on, I’ll wash the stuff in the sink. The faster I get it hanging to dry, the better.” He walked to the bed and pulled off the blanket from their failed attempt at escaping. 

Gladio took it. “I can’t believe this. This has to be the most humiliating thing we’ve done since this trip started.” Still grumbling, he went to shower as Ignis started on washing their clothes. Noctis waited his turn, and used the bedsheet to cover himself when he was clean. He fell asleep as soon he lay down. 

Prompto hung the clothes as soon as Ignis finished washing them. He had to lay them on the side of the tub, and when he ran out of room there he draped some clothing on the headboard and footboard of the bed. “Will these dry in time for the morning?” 

“They should. Goodnight.” Ignis lay down on the bed next to where Gladio had collapsed. Prompto crawled over next to Noctis. “Goodnight, guys.”


	3. Chapter 3

The clothes weren’t completely dry, but they weren’t dripping. The group wore them anyway. 

The males entered the kitchen cautiously. Prompto, Noctis, and Gladio sat as Ignis searched the cabinets for food. It was a pointless endeavor, the only edibles in the kitchen were the disgusting rations. The advisor placed them in front of his friends and sat down with his own. Nobody made a move to open the packaged food though. They all tensed when Ardyn entered the kitchen, whistling a grandiose tune that practically gloated about his foiling of their escape. Would he say anything about last night?

Ardyn insincerely inquired about how well they slept last night as they waited at the table for whatever punishment he was going to dish out. Would he discipline them first or would he go straight to hurting people they’d met? Gladio worried for his sister. The wary dread was soon replaced with suspicious surprise as the chancellor pulled a box of oatmeal from his coat pocket and put it in front of Ignis. They would get to have real food prepared by their favorite chef again? Or was this a mind game?

“Well? I was under the impression that you knew how to cook. Why are you just sitting there staring?” Ardyn grinned at them, the evil gleam in his eye taunting them. 

Ignis stood to prepare the oatmeal. He had to push a chair over to work at the kitchen counter.

As the chef put the meager breakfast together the other three stared at the man who had sat down at the table with them. Prompto shifted uncomfortably, the tension was unbearable. Ardyn seemed largely unaffected by it and launched into a speech. “So now that you are aware of what happens if you try to leave, I can head out to Lestallum to buy things that we will need for your stay here. You may be prisoners, but that doesn’t mean you have to be treated as such. As long as you behave I won’t have any reason to be nasty.” 

Noctis didn’t trust this ‘happy, harmless, and helpful’ act for one second. This was the man who worked for the empire, the same empire that had destroyed his city. He didn’t know why they hadn’t been turned over to the enemy ruler yet. That’s why the magitek always hunted them down, right? To hand deliver them to Aldercapt? Now that they were in the chancellor’s clutches, stuck as children, why was Ardyn keeping them here in Lucis’ imperial base? Shouldn’t he have taken them to Niflheim? The fact that he was keeping them here secretly somehow made the entire situation more dangerous despite the fact that the four Lucians were technically still in their home country. The young king still worried about this mysterious plan that Ardyn was so determined to keep them alive for. What did this mean for his friends? Would they be spared, or would they be included simply for associating with the royal?

Gladio scoffed at Ardyn’s statement. No reason to be nasty? Yeah right. It seemed this man thrived off of manipulating others. Prompto meekly dared to ask for clarification. “Buy things that we need?” 

Ignis put the finished oatmeal in front of the table’s occupants. He had made a bowl for Ardyn, not wanting to somehow offend the man and cause him to lash out at his brothers. The chancellor smirked at their confused discomfort, loving the drama the way some people enjoyed a relaxing bath. The negative energy was so refreshing for him. “Yes, I will stop by the store. Is there anything that your little hearts desire?”

Should they trust this offer? 

Well, the worst he could do was not bring the items they asked for. That wouldn’t be too different from now. The group had nothing except for the clothes on their bodies and the two extra shirts Noctis had struggled to pull from the armiger. He had tried again this morning, to no avail. The boy was still exhausted. 

Ignis drew up a list of groceries. He added clothes to the list too, not expecting anything to come of it. The ‘generosity’ of Ardyn was not to be depended upon. Prompto, done eating, moved to look over the advisor’s shoulder at the paper he had been given. Metaphorically, as he was much shorter than the older boy. He tugged on Ignis’ sleeve and whispered into his ear when the chef bent over. “Put fish and cup noodles on the list.” He knew Noctis and Gladio would be too stubborn to ask for the food they most enjoyed, so Prompto asked instead. He had grown used to his companion’s favorite meals, and was sure Ignis would miss cooking with them as well. Hopefully Ardyn would get everything that the advisor wrote down.

Ardyn snatched the paper from Ignis’ hands before he could review it with the other three, and Prompto was glad he had managed to suggest the two foods before that. “My, my, aren’t we greedy? This is quite the list. Very well. While I’m out I expect you four to have this house spotless when I return. If it isn’t, then you can forget about whatever’s on this paper.”

Ah. There was the catch. 

If they didn’t do his bidding, then they wouldn’t receive supplies. None of the four were astonished that there was a stipulation. 

After breakfast they were left to their task and Ardyn merrily waved goodbye. There was a magitek stationed outside the door after he closed it. The group knew because they checked, and any plans of simply walking out were abandoned. It would just lead to a repeat of last night.

“So, um… where’s the cleaning stuff?” Prompto awkwardly scratched his neck. He didn’t want to clean like Ardyn told them to, but he didn’t want to starve through lack of supplies either. Once again, they were forced into a Hobson’s choice. It wasn’t so bad… Prompto had grown up cleaning his own house by himself, so this time he’d have his friends to help. And Ignis did all the domestic maintenance while they were travelling, so this wasn’t that out of place. 

Gladio stomped to the bathroom to look under the sink, and Noctis checked the laundry room as Ignis looked under the kitchen sink. Prompto helped Noctis carry some washrags and a bucket he managed to find, and the boys set them on the living room floor next to the various cleaning liquids the older two had scavenged. They divvied up the rooms and set to work.

-o-

At eleven o’clock they stopped. The house looked great, considering they were too short to reach any of the higher counters. 

“I’m hungry. And really thirsty. Ugh, I could go for some Crow’s Nest right about now.” Prompto flopped onto the living room’s sofa. They had reconvened there to rest. Noctis looked ready to pass out. “I need to sleep. When I wake up, I’ll try to summon something.” Ignis checked his forehead as he lay down. No, he wasn’t feverish. Thank goodness. Being trapped and sick would be a nightmare. “We’ve all earned a break.”

Gladio put everything they used to clean away. “If he starts complaining that we’re not done I will shove the spray bottle where the sun don’t shine.” The others were too tired to laugh at the mental image of Ardyn trying to go about his day with a spray bottle where it shouldn’t be.

They all drifted to sleep on the sofa.

================================

“Wake up. You four have groceries to put away.” 

Ardyn stood in the living room doorway as he disturbed their slumber. He had already inspected the house, slightly taken aback to find that some of the cleaning had actually been done. He had expected them to be trying to fight the magitek again despite their pathetic size. Well, he could pretend to be a man of his word just this once then. He was sure such obedience would not occur again. Besides, it would’ve been a shame to throw all the stuff he had gotten away... even if the disappointment on their faces would have been hilarious.

Prompto groaned as he felt Ignis sit up on the sofa next to him. Noctis was still asleep, and Gladio was grumbling as he awoke. They were about to leave their friend snoozing on the couch when Ardyn shook his head. “Ah, ah, ah, you all need to get up.”

Was this his way of keeping a lid on Noct’s magic? He had seen him warping during the escape attempt, so the Crownsguard wasn’t sure if that was his reason for arousing the king. Maybe they were thinking too hard about this. Maybe he was just an inconsiderate jerk.

“Noct. Psst. Hey, Noct.” Prompto shook on his buddy’s shoulder. The older boy eventually sat up. “Ugh… Oh great. He’s back.” 

While unhappy about the man’s presence, all four of them were happy to see that the kitchen floor was littered with bags. Ignis checked, and it seemed that everything he had written had been procured. Their captivity was made slightly easier with the knowledge that they would have real food instead of the rations. Some of the bags had clothes, and they planned to check the sizes later. The fitting didn’t need an audience. 

“I’m still waiting for an expression of gratitude.” Ardyn stood there relishing the conflict on their faces. They didn’t want to thank the aggravating enemy and he knew it. However, making the man angry wasn’t wise, he could retract his promise to keep them alive at any time. “Thank you.” The Lucians spat out the words quickly, the syllables feeling dirty on their tongues. 

Ignis set to making lunch as the groceries were stashed in the house in the appropriate locations. Prompto and Noctis loaded the cabinets and the small fridge, and thankfully everything fit. Gladio carried the clothes to their designated room and dumped the bags on the bed, it would be sorted later. Any non-edibles were put away as well, Ardyn had bought some toiletries. This was another surprise. He commented when he saw them examining the soap. “If I’m going to be forced to care for you then I shall do so properly. I shan’t have dirty little boys stinking up the house.”

They let the taunt go, not appreciating his apparent belief that he was doing them a great service. 

As the food was served they finally reached the last bag. “Actually, that one is mine.” Prompto dropped it immediately, not wanting to move closer to pass it over. He left it there and scurried to eat. Ardyn rolled his eyes and picked it up. “It’s not going to infect you with starscourge.”

Noctis snorted. “Can’t be too careful around you.” Oh man, Ignis’ cooking was sooo good. He didn’t think it was possible to miss delicious food this much. The others had similar looks of bliss, chewing their food slowly to enjoy it better. The chancellor let out a dry little laugh, clearly not amused. “Ha ha. I didn’t realize the ‘king’ possessed a certain level of… what do the kids call it these days? Sass?”

“Sorry we’re not willing to joke with our captor. Must be a real buzzkill.”

Noctis sighed. Leave it to the muscle of the group to address the situation head on. “Gladio, don’t antagonize him.”

“Yes, boys, be polite to your dear Uncle Ardyn.” The man outright laughed at the disgust on their faces. They obviously didn’t want to consider the man as an ‘uncle’, but little did they know that he was indeed a relative of the royal family. Noctis could technically call him that despite the fact that he was more like a great great great… whatever. It had been so long that even Ardyn wasn’t sure of the exact relation. Oh well. 

He supposed he could use this unfortunate arrangement to further torment a member of the family that had scorned him.


	4. Chapter 4

‘Click’

“Prompto, should you really be using that here? He will be back soon.” Ignis gently chided his friend. The advisor and the gunner had woken up at their usual times, and Ardyn had been sneaking out as they went downstairs. They were told to stay in the house, and he left his lovely enforcers standing guard at the doorway. The magitek looked like it was deactivated, but it was obvious that it was actually monitoring them. The photographer was currently documenting the robot as the chef prepared breakfast. The other two were still asleep.

“I can sell these pictures when we get out of here. That’s extra gil.” Prompto stood on his tiptoes, trying to get a better angle. He supposed he could drag a chair over…

Ignis hummed noncommittally. “I suppose.” They could definitely use the extra funding... but he didn’t think it wise to have the camera, Prompto’s favorite personal belonging, exposed during their stay here. It was just another thing for Ardyn to break, and Ignis doubted he’d hesitate. “Can you go get Noct and Gladio? By the time they are awake the food will be ready.”

“Okay.” Prompto pocketed the camera, and went to complete the task. He managed to get the older males up and ready despite their moaning and groaning. The clothes that had been bought yesterday fit them, and it wasn’t too removed from what they usually wore. Just plain old black, and Ignis had cut the sleeves off of Prompto’s shirt at his request. It was too hot for extra fabric.

They were almost done eating when Ardyn returned, donut and newspaper in his hand. 

Really!? They were put on lockdown so he could run to the gas station? 

Even if they had attempted escape he would have gotten back before the four got anywhere. Damn, if he was this cautious for a simple snack run then the next plan they came up with would have to be phenomenal. 

Prompto, who had been going through his photos, nudged Noctis. Turning the display screen away from Ardyn, he showed Noct the picture he had stopped on. “Psst. Hey, woof woof?”

It took Noctis a second to figure out what his friend meant. The photo from when Umbra had first found them after leaving Insomnia stared back at him. “Oh, uh… Not yet. Later.” Ignis sighed, realizing right away that they were referring to the canine messenger. Why were they talking about Umbra while Ardyn was in the room? They had no idea whether he knew about the dog and his connection with the oracle. There was no way that talking to Luna would be allowed, so this was something they needed to do privately. 

Ardyn stood up, and Prompto made sure to change the picture. The chancellor moved lazily around the table, walking ever so calmly despite the growing unease of the other males in the room. The photographer wished he had listened to Ignis, and tried to pocket the device now. It was a feeble attempt at hiding it, and Ardyn clicked his tongue disappointedly. “Hand it over.”

Gladio stood up too. “What do you need his camera for?”

“I didn’t allow you to have any of your toys back yet. Maybe if you’re good you can earn it back.” Ardyn had his hand outstretched as he waited for the picture-box. Prompto stammered as he tried to think of something to convince their jailor to let him keep his camera. “I won’t pull it out anymore!”

“You’re right, you won’t. Because you won’t have it to be able to. Now hand it over before I get upset.” 

Ignis tried to help. “What if we left it in the room?”

“Oh dear, you are all so defensive over a stupid little camera.” Ardyn knew full well how important the camera was to Prompto and the others. Memories… They were precious things and he wished he had been able to record the good ones from so long ago. Taking their method of saving their memories would be so cathartic.

Noctis had been straining to shove the camera in the Armiger since Ardyn first stood up. It was very difficult, his magic felt like it was in a stasis of sorts. He could feel it but he couldn’t use it. He had gotten more sleep, why couldn’t he do this properly!? Prompto saw him trying, there were tiny blue crystal flashes occasionally popping up around Noctis. He realized what he was doing and attempted to stall. This creep enjoyed theatrics, so what could he do that would buy Noct more time? “Please don’t take it.”

Ardyn was turned in such a way that Ignis was out of view. The advisor motioned to the blond, hoping his hastily devised plan would work. He rubbed his eyes, and Prompto got the message. Gladio moved to stand in front of the youngest group member in an attempt to deter Ardyn. During all of this, Noctis was still trying to put the camera away.

Prompto didn’t have to try hard to make the tears fall. He was genuinely frantic as he tried to protect his camera, the one thing that had survived as long as he and his friends had. He couldn’t lose this, the car and their weapons were already gone, he couldn’t lose this too! 

“I-I won’t use it anymore, p-please!” Damn it, what was wrong with Noct’s magic? Prompto felt ridiculous crying like this, but he was truly out of ideas to distract the chancellor. If he noticed what Noctis was doing then there were bound to be consequences. 

It was too late anyway. 

Ardyn pushed Gladio aside and snatched the camera. “Thank you. Now, run along and start on your cleaning. I’ve got work to do today, so I can’t entertain you lot.” Prompto tried to stop crying now because the plan hadn’t worked, but apparently he didn’t stop fast enough for Ardyn’s liking. “Stop your snivelling.”

“Leave him alone! Haven’t you done enough already!?” Noctis was beyond upset with himself, Ardyn, and the situation. Why couldn’t he do anything!? His magic was still inside him, why couldn’t he use it? 

Turning, Ardyn leaned in close again as he pocketed the camera. The man had trouble with keeping a respectable distance. “If you’d like things to be worse then I can easily accommodate you.”

Ignis, who had moved over to comfort Prompto, spoke up. “Ardyn. You mentioned earning it back. What exactly do you want?” Gladio looked at the advisor incredulously. He wanted more orders to follow?!

Ardyn, on the other hand, looked pleased. He had actually believed that little lie? Wasn’t he supposed to be the smart one of the group? “What I want… you definitely can’t give that to me yet. You’re not ready.” 

Noctis crossed his arms. “If we can’t help you then why keep us here?” 

“Oh, you are so impatient! Wanting to know everything right now? You’ll spoil the end of this story, our story. For right now, return to your duties before I grow tired of being kind to you and your little friends.”

The deep shame of failing to protect his teammate from this bully had quickly turned to white-hot anger. “This is kindness!?” The shield’s outburst set Ardyn’s face into a deep frown, and Ignis unconsciously tightened his grip on Prompto as the chancellor stepped forward. “Gladio! Enough.” 

“Shut up before you get us killed!” Noctis’ shout overlapped with Ignis’ warning. “You think any of us are happy about this!? You’re always telling me to think of others when you never do! ‘Oh, you’re not the only one having a hard time’, well why don’t you follow your own advice!”

Being reminded of the tiny fight they had while Titan was raging did nothing to calm Gladio. “I’m not thinking of others!? Well, sorry I’m not willing to lay down and wait for this asshole to decide our fate!” 

“Gladio, please!” Prompto had been watching Ardyn during all this, and the frown had slowly grown into a smirk. He was delighted that they were fighting? The thought didn’t sit well with the youngest Lucian. 

Before Gladio could say anything more Ardyn started clapping. “Bravo! You lose one toy and throw such a tantrum… There’s no way you’re ready. Hahahaha, how will you even handle- oops, mustn’t spill that yet, hmm?” He stared right at Prompto before slowly moving his gaze to Ignis. “You will all be so distraught… Oh, the anticipation of a good time has improved my mood, despite your awful yelling.”

“Great, now give-“ Ardyn strode over and reached around to grab the back of Gladio’s shirt before he could finish his demand. Dragging him away from the others, he led the enraged shield to the stairs. “Let this be a lesson, you brat. You’re not in charge.”

Upstairs they went, Prompto, Ignis, and Noctis hurriedly following. “Let go of him!” 

Gladio didn’t make it easy, but Ardyn managed to get him into one of the unoccupied rooms. Twirling the kid around, the chancellor pushed him to the floor and slammed the door closed. Pulling keys from his pocket, Ardyn locked the wooden barrier as the eldest headache banged from his side. The other three attacked as he stood fiddling with the doorknob and key. Prompto pulled at his coat sleeve, Noctis kicked his leg, and Ignis grabbed at his pockets. 

“Enough! The more you misbehave, the longer he stays in there.” Ardyn’s voice promised every word. “If he dies of hunger then that shall be your fault. I don’t really need him to accomplish my goal, I can make it work with just you three.”

Abandoning the villain, the panicking friends lunged at the door. Noctis cursed at both Ardyn and his ‘goal’. Ignis twisted the doorknob back and forth, despite the futility. Prompto pushed at the stubborn wood that was shaking from the force of Gladio barreling into it. 

Ardyn walked away. 

-o-

Prompto dropped the sponge back into the sink. “I hope he’s okay.” 

“He’s probably fine.” Noctis didn’t sound too convincing, especially since he was angrily mopping the same floor tile he’d been abusing for five minutes. Ignis sighed. “I was wondering when Ardyn would make another dramatic display of power. I didn’t think it would be so soon.” 

“I don’t hear Gladio banging on the door anymore, I mean. He’s probably going to have giant bruises…” Prompto rinsed off the dishes he was washing, the ones from breakfast. Before this mess had started… “I’m sorry, Ignis.” 

The advisor put down the rag he had been using to clean the table. “Sorry for what? This isn’t your fault.” 

“If I had put the camera away when you said then h-he wouldn’t have started p-picking on us.” Prompto sniffled. He was not going to cry again today, he wasn’t. It was just so damn frustrating. If they weren’t stuck as children then things would have gone differently. “I should have listened to you, you’re always right.” 

“Prompto, he would have found a way to torment us even if you had put the camera away.” Ignis pushed up his glasses. “I was going to wait until later, but here.” 

Ignis pulled the camera out of his pocket. 

“How?” Noctis glanced at the doorway, expecting Ardyn to come in and take it away again. Prompto had the same thought, but it was overridden by the joy of holding his camera once more. “Ignis-“ 

“Shh. Just put it away now.” 

Prompto whispered as he obeyed. “Thank you! But how did you even get it back?” Both he and the king leaned in to hear the details. Ignis checked to see if they were still alone before explaining. “When we all started hitting Ardyn, I knew he wouldn’t pay attention to something being taken out of his coat pocket.”

“You’re the best!” Prompto hugged the older male as Noctis clapped the advisor’s back. “Wow, Specs, you’re even a brilliant pick-pocket.” 

“I’m going to start on lunch. Hopefully this won’t further upset Imperial Chancellor Izunia.” Ignis spat out the honorific. The pretentious title fit the stupid man. 

Once again, speaking about him was his cue to appear. 

“I’m glad to see this morning’s episode has reminded you of your place.” Ardyn eyed the cleaning supplies they held before continuing. “What are you making for lunch?”

And just like that, the vile man was oh so charming again. 

“I am preparing sandwiches.”

“Good. If you would be so kind, please leave out the Leiden peppers. They don’t agree with me.” Ardyn sat down at the table. The younger two put the cleaning things away. Noctis stood in the corner and leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he glared. Prompto shuffled forward, not expecting his request to be met. “Ardyn? May Gladio come out?”

Ignis paused before continuing the food preparation. Maybe acting natural would help? Noctis also pretended not to notice despite the shock. Prompto was being unbelievably bold by asking for the impossible, even if the question had been squeaked out in the smallest voice possible. They hadn’t even planned to try asking nicely for Gladio to be let out. Ardyn merely chuckled. “Not yet. You haven’t learned your lesson yet, and I know for a fact that your big friend is still throwing a tantrum.”

“Okay.” Prompto tried not to look too upset. He had tried, and that’s what counted.

-o-

They didn’t see the eldest again until bedtime, and he devoured the sandwich that Ignis had hidden in his pocket as soon as Ardyn slammed the door closed. “Gladio!” “Are you alright?” “Eat slowly, you don’t want to throw up.”

Swallowing, he answered their concerns. “I’m fine, just starving. He didn’t do anything during the walk over except lecture me on how ‘I’m not that tough’ and ‘he shouldn’t have to deal with young people, he’s so sick of it’. He didn’t hurt you three, right?”

“No, we are unharmed.”

“Just overworked. Stupid jerk had us cleaning all day.” Noctis stretched out his legs. He may not have had the old limp anymore but it still hurt to be standing for such a long time. Prompto pulled his knees up to his chin as he sat on the bed. “Do you think we can call Umbra?” He had remembered how the whole thing started, and wanted to know if they could reach the divine canine.

Noctis focused, hoping that the dog would come. With his magic acting wonky this attempt was a long shot.

They all froze when they heard barking. It was coming from outside the house, and they almost knocked each other over as they rushed madly to the window for a glimpse of the source. Down below a dark dog trotted alongside the house; it was kind of hard to see, the black fur blended in with the night. That didn’t matter though, because the four knew right away who it was. “Umbra!” 

Noctis opened the window as much as he could reach. “Shh!” The dog kept barking, albeit less often. 

Ignis pulled out his little black notebook, the one he used to record his recipehs. The advisor ripped a page loose and began furiously scribbling. There was no time for his usually neat penmanship. “Here, I’m writing that we need assistance.” 

“That’s all well and good, but how are we supposed to get down to the dog?” Gladio glanced at the door, ready for Ardyn to come in and ruin everything. Prompto ran to lock the door with the hope that the small defense would slow down any intruding chancellors. 

“I can warp down and then right back up. Pass me the note.” Noctis looked at where he wanted to go. He preferred throwing something before warping, but he didn’t have time to search for anything. To the ground below he went, silently. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio watched from the window. 

“Here, Umbra.” Noctis held the paper out as he urged the canine closer. The dog gently ‘bork’ed at his human friend, finally a bit quieter. 

Prompto saw him first, but it didn’t take long for the others to notice. “NOCT!” “Behind you!” “Get back up here!” 

Turning to see why his friends were panicking led to the view of a rapidly approaching Ardyn. “I thought I heard one of the princess’ mutts. Get back upstairs, foolish chosen. You’ll not receive aid from her.” 

Noctis warped up before Ardyn could grab him. The fleeing royal managed to get to the window… unfortunately, he did not get in the opening. As he hung there Prompto and Ignis grabbed his arms while Gladio lifted the window more. Dragging their friend through the now enlarged entrance, the group dropped in a pile. Rapidly rising, they peeked back out the window to see why Umbra was still barking. 

“Stay still you stupid, drooling creature!” Ardyn had one hand gripped around the green fabric that Umbra wore. The other hand was holding his own fedora. The dog was trying to bite him as he attempted to put the hat on the furry head. “There, send that message back. May her icy grace deem us worthy of a visit. Hopefully she’ll whine at Bahamut so he’ll change these brats back to full size.” 

The boys heard Ardyn talking to the dog, but they had no idea what he was rambling about. How would Luna know what the fedora meant? Was it some sort of threat? Hopefully the princess would realize that Umbra was supposed to get to Noctis and didn’t. 

The dog snapped at Ardyn again, who merely shooed him away with a kick. “Go, you have work to do.” When the persistent pooch did not skedaddle the chancellor summoned a magitek. 

The boys began screaming at Umbra. “Run!!!” “Get out of here!” “Go get Luna!!” “Get away from that jerk!”

Ardyn looked up at them. “Shut up and get in bed. If you’re not sleeping by the time I get in the house then you will all regret it.” It was late, and even evil chancellors needed to sleep sometimes. 

Umbra eventually did disappear, thankfully unharmed. 

It turned out captured Lucians needed to sleep too. Feeling especially drained because another escape attempt had failed, the four went through their bedtime routine with a cloud overhead. 

“I’m tired of being here.” Noctis knew that talking about it wouldn’t change the situation, especially while they were laying in bed, but it was the truth. Prompto merely curled into himself more, and Ignis chose not to complain when the blond’s knee accidentally dug into his spine. Gladio sighed. “Get some rest. We have more fighting to do tomorrow.”


	5. Chapter 5

Ardyn looked at the miserable crew gathered at the table. One, two, three. 

“Where is he?” 

Waiting to see who’d answer first, he guessed from their demeanor that the stupid king was not feeling well. It was his own fault, really, using so much magic to warp while the magitek suppressor was running… The chancellor was surprised it took so long to take its toll. 

The spectacled one took it upon himself to be the mature one. He stood to attend to the pot that was on the stove. “Highness is sick.”

Of course, the big idiot decided to add to the conversation. “You’re not going to make him clean, are you?” The oaf’s question set the little one in a panic, apparently the offshoot of Niflheim’s most brilliant scientist hadn’t thought that far ahead. “He can’t, he needs to rest!” 

“Quiet, both of you. The hapless prince can sleep, but that means some people will need to pick up his slack.” Ardyn smiled at their mixed indignation and relief. “And I’ll take a bowl of that soup, it smells heavenly.”

-o-

“What does he even do all day? Is there, like, evil paperwork or something?” Prompto scrubbed at a stubborn spot on the floor with the handbrush. The imperial butthead had left them alone after taking an obnoxiously large portion of Noct’s ‘feel better’ soup. Ignis had gone up to check on their ill comrade as Prompto and Gladio started on the day’s punishments. 

“Does it matter? He’s literally kidnapped us and you’re worried about what he accomplishes?” The shield was not in a conversational mood. Prompto backpedaled. “I’m not worried about Ardyn, I just want to know why he bothers keeping us here. Doesn’t the empire wonder why this guy hasn’t shown up for work? In Niflheim, I mean.”

“I guess everyone’s just happy that he’s gone. Surely we aren’t the only ones who hate him.” 

Ignis re-entered, and the talk changed immediately. “How is he, Iggy?”

Prompto’s concern was met with a lukewarm response. “He’s eaten some of the soup, mostly just the noodles and broth. He still won’t touch the vegetables. He’s gone back to sleep now.”

“At least he ate something, that should make-”

Gladio interrupted. “Do you hear that?” 

They stopped to listen. It sounded like running-

Ardyn burst into the room, uncharacteristically panicked and moving quickly. He strode right over and picked Prompto up, throwing the poor boy over his shoulder. “Let go of-“ 

“Quiet, and if you make a sound while that pompous prince is here then I swear-“ Ardyn’s escape with the smallest member was halted by the bigger boys. “What the hell are you doing!?” “Release him at once!” 

“Out of my way, fools. He’s coming and it will spell death for you imbeciles if- Will you stop squirming, you little brat, this is for your benefit!” Ardyn grabbed at Prompto’s legs to stop him from kicking. “Put me down!” 

Ardyn went the opposite route, since yelling wasn’t working. His voice lowered dangerously, and the sudden change made the boys listen. “No. Ravus is coming and he can’t see you four. He will tell Aldercapt, and you will all be killed. I need you ALIVE!” 

Prompto was forced to cover his ears at the second volume change. The blond had no idea who Ravus was, why he couldn’t see them, or why Ardyn was so determined to do whatever he was doing right now. Prompto was currently being dropped off in Ardyn’s room, and the chancellor shut the door. Prompto assumed Ignis was now being dragged off because now he was yelling to be ‘unhanded this instant!’.

Where was he going to put all of them? Why couldn’t they just hide together? Wouldn’t it have been easier to keep this Ravus guy out of one room instead of four separate ones? 

Prompto sank to the floor. Who was going to help Noct? He was still sick, after all. 

Ardyn opened the door minutes later, and Prompto scrambled back. “I’m going to tell you what I told your friends, so listen up. If you make a noise or try to get Ravus’ attention then you will be handed over. The remaining Crownsguard will then be tortured and fed to the daemons, and your ‘beloved Noct’ will be forced to watch before he fulfills the damned prophecy earlier than planned!”

Leaning close to Prompto, who was unnaturally still with worry (and was that anger in the little gunman’s eyes??), the ancient man smiled. “I’m glad to see you understand.” 

“But what about Noct! He’s still-“

Waving his hand dismissively, Ardyn cut Prompto off. “The advisor is with him. As I said, your friends are aware of the risks. Now be a good boy and wait nicely for your dear uncle?”

Prompto’s face twisted into one of disgust, giving Ardyn a chuckle as he turned to leave. “How long do we have to stay like this?” 

“Until the Tenebraen twat leaves.” The door was closed behind him with a definitive ‘click’ of the lock. 

Prompto figured he should see what was in his cage. What else did he have to do?

Ardyn’s room was as bland as the one they were using. Just a bed, a bathroom, and a dresser. Prompto opened the window to get some fresh air because it smelled stale. He hadn’t noticed before, being preoccupied with more important things. The view from the window only showed him the wall of the magitek base, so it wasn’t that great. 

There had to be something in here that would help him! Taking another look around, Prompto tried to find a way out. He crawled under the bed and walked around feeling the walls to check for vents. That’s what all the spies did in video games and movies, surely there had to be a grain of truth in these entertainment tropes… He opened the drawers, hoping for further inspiration. Instead he only found the chancellor’s sock drawer. Gross. 

Closing the unintentional and unwanted invasion of privacy, Prompto went into the bathroom and flicked on the light. 

The astrals smiled upon him and he heard heavenly chorus. 

A vent was just above the toilet! Climbing up, Prompto examined the small… too small, way too small grate. There was no way he was fitting through there, even if he could get the metal cover off. Okay, maybe he could squeeze through but his claustrophobia would send him into a panic attack. He’d end up stuck anyway. The astrals stopped singing and started laughing instead. 

Getting off of the toilet, Prompto washed his hands at the sink. No way was he going to somehow get Ardyn cooties from the bathroom. Bored and frustrated, he opened the other drawers he hadn’t checked. Pants and shirts sat folded in the middle one, and the bottom drawer had books shoved in it. Pulling one out, he sat. Hey! The one under that was the same book that Gladio always read in the car! Under that one was a much smaller book that had a pen attached via ribbon. 

Prompto chose that one to open. 

“Poetry? ‘And lo, the falling sunlight to the Malacchi Pond seemed dulled. Your golden radiance outshone the sky’s daytime star’... Who is he writing about?” Prompto remembered when the four of them had gone to this very same pond. He had taken picture after picture as Noct had fished for hours. Ignis had made dinner with what he had pulled from the depths, and Gladio had won the card game that night. 

Ardyn had apparently been to the same spot, though it obviously held different emotional value for him. 

Prompto turned the page, wondering if the man had seen the rest of Eos. He stopped, realizing that it was crazy… Prompto had always thought Noctis was following Regis’ footsteps as they traversed the country. Apparently they were also following in Ardyn’s. 

Moving to lay on his belly as he read, Prompto kept going through the pages. The next section spoke about Ravatogh and how the spices plucked from the volcano’s trail tasted ‘better than the banquets of yore’. Prompto yawned. 

-o-

Ravus had come to ask if he should move the magitek and the blockades. The citizens were growing unhappy, and he didn’t want them to revolt. He said it would only lead to more unnecessary violence. 

Ardyn had to approve that decision, apparently the prince hadn’t heard word from Aldercapt on the matter. Ugh, Aldercapt. He needed to check in on the old fool, and the delusional scientist probably needed to be seen too. Ardyn couldn’t leave to do that now, not with his future investments trying to fly the coop every night. 

He had nodded at everything Ravus asked, trying to hurry the man along. It would only be a matter of time before one of the four grew bold enough to ignore the warnings given. 

Thankfully, it turned out he didn’t need to follow through with any threats. He hadn’t heard anything besides Ravus’ dull droning. Sending the prince along on his way, Ardyn went to go see why the boys were being so unexpectedly good. 

Noctis was still laying down, Ignis gently rubbing the aching back. 

Gladio, who had been put in one of the empty bedrooms, was busy trying to unscrew the vent over the bathroom’s toilet with a gil. Ardyn had no idea why he was bothering. The vents were too small to crawl through, especially for a child his size. Maybe Prompto would have fit, but definitely not Gladio. 

“Get down from there. Ravus is gone now, you may return to the others.” 

Stepping aside, he let the grumbling kid through the door. 

Ardyn went down the hall and opened his own door. Prompto was asleep on the floor with an open book as a pillow. Picking up the other text next to him, Ardyn closed the drawer. When he saw that Prompto was drooling all over his diary from decades ago he sighed. “Leave it to the youth to treat history with no respect.” He was going to yank the book, causing the blond’s head to hit the floor so he’d wake up, but then he noticed something. The boy was nearing the final pages. Assuming he had started at the beginning, that would mean he had been fascinated enough to read all the poems and notes on Eos. 

Nobody had ever read any of his works before. (At least, not willingly. Those textbooks he had written recently were used in some of Insomnia’s schools, but who would have read an entire textbook all the way through?)

He lifted Prompto to carry him back to the others, carefully, so he wouldn’t wake. The boy muttered something, probably in a dream. Maybe even one inspired by his readings?

He’d attend to the book later, there probably wouldn’t be much damage. 

-o-

Prompto was confused when he woke up next to Noctis. Ignis was sitting on the other side of the royal, feeling his forehead. “Iggy?” 

“Ah, you’re up. The chancellor carried you in here awhile back.”

“Uh-“

“He said he was going to wake you but he didn’t want to hear your whining. I can understand that.” Gladio was on the floor, not wanting to take the bed space away from his friends. They were obviously exhausted enough to need it. 

“So he didn’t do anything creepy, right?”

“You have all your fingers and your hair is intact, so I doubt he was practicing voodoo magic.” Gladio was obviously relieved at their safety enough to be teasing, but Ignis was a bit more serious. “I don’t think he harmed you, no.”

Prompto put a hand on Noctis’ back. “How is he?” 

Noctis rolled over, startling Prompto. He rasped out a sentence before coughing. “I’m just tired.” 

“Can you sit with him? I’m going to see if we are allowed food.” Ignis stood, wringing his hands as he walked out. Prompto began massaging Noctis’ back as best he could. The poor boy kept turning every so often, unable to find a comfortable position. Gladio grabbed one of the bed’s other pillows and asked Prompto to help prop Noctis up. “Is that any better?”

Gladio made a comment before Prompto’s concern was addressed. “He’s sitting up enough to eat, at least.”

Noctis rubbed at his eyes. “I can’t wait until this is over.”

Ignis came back in with a large bowl of soup. “I could only carry one.” He pulled four spoons from his pocket and distributed them. “Hold these, I’ll go get the other bowls.” He turned to leave again, this time Gladio went with him. There was no reason for Ignis to do all the heavy lifting alone. 

Prompto tried to start feeding Noctis. “I can hold the spoon, Prompto. I’m not that worn out.” Noctis reached out to take it, but had to cover his mouth again to avoid coughing directly on his friend. 

“Are you sure? Cuz, you know I don’t mind if you need help.” Prompto made the spoon fly around, careful not to spill any soup. “Open wide, here comes the imperial dreadnaught…” 

“Now I’m going to barf.” 

Prompto scooted back. “You’re joking, right?” 

“Yeah, now give me the bowl before I infect you.” Noctis pretended to pick his nose and wipe it on what he could reach of Prompto’s leg. “You’re so gross. Here.” Passing the soup, the blond stayed hovering nearby in case assistance was necessary. 

“Ignis said Ardyn threw you in another room. Are you okay?” Noctis blew on the broth. The king worried about how roughly his younger friend had been treated, even though the man had carried Prompto in and placed him on the bed softly. It seemed in character though, the switch between enraged and polite. The ‘man of no consequence’ was obviously a man of no stability as well. 

“I’m fine. He just put me in his room, guess there weren’t enough places to hide us in this house?” Prompto eyed the soup hungrily, but kept from asking for a portion. This was Noct’s bowl, he could wait for his own. It wouldn’t be much longer. “I found his diary.”

“No way, what was in it?” Noctis didn’t even think that Ardyn would be the type to have one. 

“Stuff about places we’ve been to. Comments on the archeology and how much some lady… ‘Aera’?... would have loved it. And some really flowery poems. It was kinda embarrassing.” Prompto briefly wondered if such writings would actually work when trying to impress a lady. Though… Cindy didn’t seem like a woman who would fall for fancy wordplay…

Ignis and Gladio returned with the other three soup bowls. Sitting down on the floor by the bed, the Crownsguard ate their dinner with little conversation. Noctis stopped asking questions to focus on his food too. 

After a few minutes of chewing, Ignis sighed. “I’m… having trouble remembering how long we’ve been staying here.” 

Noctis started trying to total the days, but Gladio just snorted. “Too long, that’s for sure.” 

“Oh! You know what else I saw in the diary, Noct?” Prompto put the soup bowl down, three-quarters of the meal gone already. “Ardyn’s birthday. The page didn’t have much on it, but it did have a crumpled up birthday card stuck to it. What is today’s date?”

They all pulled out their phones. Prompto did some mental math. “A week from now, give or take.” 

“Okay, but does that even matter? What, are we gonna throw him a party so he’ll play nice and let us go?” Gladio was NOT going to sing to this guy, that was for sure. 

Ignis hummed thoughtfully. “We could make sure he gets too comfortable.” Ignis stood to check where their old clothes were laying. He dug in the jacket, the other three trying to puzzle out what he meant. 

Prompto asked first. “Uh, Iggy? What are you planning?” 

A Maiden’s Kiss was extracted from the old blazer. “I could easily hide this in a cake.”

“Like a magic flask, but as a cake? He’ll never see it coming!” Gladio rubbed his hands together. “Ignis, did I ever tell you how brilliant you are?”

Noctis thought about it. The elemancy wouldn’t be too hard to adjust. This particular item would cause stopcast. Hopefully it would freeze Ardyn in time long enough for them to get out. Yeah, they could do this! Prompto didn’t seem as excited though, something occurred to him. “But, wait, won’t he get suspicious when we don’t eat any?”

“Hmm. You’re right.” Ignis paused for a second. “I could do cupcakes. Those are individual servings. I’d just have to make sure he takes the right one.”

“Just decorate it excessively, his ego will cause him to pick the most dramatic one.” Gladio smiled at how devious this new plan was. When they cast the spell in battle, it only lasted a few seconds. But if Ardyn ate it? Surely it would last longer! 

“Alright. We have about a week to prepare.” Ignis put all their dishes in a corner, he’d wash them tomorrow. “For now, it is bedtime.”


	6. Chapter 6

Noctis couldn’t help much with ‘Operation Birthday’. He was still sick for two days after the formation of their plan, and so the other three lay low. Ignis asked Ardyn to get ingredients for the cake, though he told the man it was for separate recipes. Ardyn must not have studied baking, because he didn’t even recognize the list for what it was. Or maybe he knew and just thought it was a coincidence?

Prompto managed to find a pen and a blank piece of paper, and so he had set to drawing a pretty convincing birthday card. A chocobo with a party hat stood on the front. Inside, the boy had written ‘Happy Birthday’ with a cupcake drawing next to it. 

Gladio had managed to swipe the mug Ardyn always used, and he wrote on it. Now, his message wasn’t as nice as Prompto’s. 

All these preparations had to be done at night, because during the day they were busy doing stupid little chores that Ardyn tasked them with. The house didn’t get too dirty, so they couldn’t clean all the time. One day he had the Crownsguard wiping off the magitek helmets because he simply ran out of things to keep them occupied. Noctis eventually felt better, and he was forced to go back to work too. The boys kept their complaints to themselves as they waited for the time to spring into action. 

-o-

“What is that smell?” Ardyn entered the kitchen to see his charges’ black shirts covered in white powder. 

Prompto was pouring a can of Ebony into a mug, one that looked like his favorite but it had writing all over it. Ignis had his mittened hands in the oven, pulling out a tray of little cakes. Noctis was fighting with the lid to a small plastic tub, and Gladio was putting plates on the table. 

A half-hearted chorus of birthday wishes barely interrupted their tasks. Ardyn was taken aback for the first time in millennia. “How did you brats… You.” Prompto looked up, expecting to finally be punished for touching his books. Ardyn shook his head. “Why? This little party changes nothing.” 

“Just eat the damn cake. Ignis worked hard on it.” Noctis abandoned the frosting to shove at Ardyn’s back. “Sit down and relax.” Ardyn let himself be led to the chair. Closer now, he finally saw what the mug said. “‘Even Trash Man Need Coffee’?”

“Hey, it’s true.” Gladio nudged Prompto. “Where’s the card?”

“Oh! Uh, here.” Prompto shoved the paper at the birthday boy before turning to help Ignis frost the cupcakes. The advisor was already done with the super special one. The icing was melting off because they hadn’t let the base cool. The mess did a great job of hiding any irregularities. 

“I must admit, it is nice to be the center of attention.” Ardyn didn’t feel the need to add ‘in a positive way again’. A statement like that would make the boys curious. It wasn’t time for them to start thinking about all that yet. As it was the diary shouldn’t have even been touched. “Do I get presents?” 

“Uh…” Prompto sort of froze awkwardly. Really? This guy had to realize they couldn’t exactly go gift shopping. “No?” 

“I’m jesting, of course.” Ardyn was used to not getting any gifts on his birthday, so this little party was more than enough. When was the last time anybody had even said anything to him about it? Long before Somnus had done THAT, for sure… Pushing the grim thought down, he took a sip from his defaced mug. 

Ignis set the cupcake in front of him. 

Ardyn looked at the runny frosting. “For a chef, that was a pretty juvenile mistake. Why didn’t you wait? Ah, well, nobody’s perfect.” 

The culinary magician held his tongue as he clenched his fist. 

Come on, bite it…

All four boys were staring, ready to bolt if their plan worked. Prompto patted his back pocket one last time to make sure he had everything. Phone, camera, he was good. Noctis shifted towards the window, waiting to warp and open their escape route. Gladio was resisting the urge to rush the man. That would only cause him to take longer, Ardyn was driven by spite. 

Ignis prayed he had actually gotten the spell into the cake. There was no way of knowing until-

Ardyn’s teeth sank into the treat. He had managed to get half of it at once. Chewing before swallowing, he reached for his mug. 

His hand only made it to the handle. 

The chancellor was inflicted with the desired status!!!! The stopcast wouldn’t last forever though!! 

Bursting into action, the king flew towards the window with a spray of blue sparkles. His friends were not far behind. Noctis warped out of the ground level window and immediately turned, ready to help the others. Prompto was lifted and shoved through by Gladio, who then grabbed Ignis. Noctis caught Prompto, barely, and the two tumbled over. The older boy rolled so Prompto was beneath him as they moved out of the way. Ignis landed where they had just been, and Gladio fell on top of the advisor shortly after. 

“Get off, we have to hurry!” 

“I know, I’m going!” Scrambling up, the bodyguard pulled Ignis to his feet. Next to them, Prompto and Noctis were hurriedly untangling. “The entrance is that way!” 

“I hope it’s open!” Prompto, being the fastest runner despite having the shortest legs, led the charge towards freedom. “Ah! Magitek!” 

Noctis collided with his back. “Keep going, they’re not on!” Ignis confirmed breathlessly. “They’ve not activated yet!” 

Gladio let out a ‘yeah’ when they finally saw the front of the base. The door was wide open! Ardyn was too cocky and hadn’t taken such a simple step to keep them in. 

Legs and lungs burning, they kept running. They couldn’t even appreciate the surroundings and the fact that they were out!! They had to keep going before-

Ardyn!!???!?!!?!??!??

Standing in the middle of the road leading out of the base!?!??

HOW!?!?????!!!!

“Scatter!” Noctis didn’t wait for Ignis to come up with a plan, he just panicked and hoped that the one man wouldn’t be able to catch four boys. He’d have to pick one to chase, and Noctis knew it would be him. At least his friends would be safe. To ensure that they got away, Noctis taunted their enemy. “Hey, over here!” He then used some very vulgar names, not daring to look back as he fled. 

He must have blinked, because he didn’t see exactly when Ardyn appeared in front of him. 

NO!!!

Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio lay on the floor at Ardyn’s feet, unconscious. 

Noctis didn’t bother with questions. He was sure his eyes were red, and he summoned the armiger to encircle him. “LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

“I should have known such treachery would come from a Caelum, the product of-“ Ardyn’s rage was interrupted by a royal projectile heading towards his face. He simply swatted the king, sword and all, and Noctis hit the ground. That didn’t slow him down though. Noctis was back up and attacking in no time. 

“Enough. I’m too tired for this.” Ardyn lifted his hand. 

Noctis was mid-swing when


	7. Chapter 7

Noctis woke up in the room they had been using. 

Sitting up faster than he should have, he fought down a wave of nausea. Great, sick again. 

He climbed out of the bed. “Guys? Prompto? Ignis? Gladio?” The room was empty, save him. “Where are you!?” He started pounding on the door, but his stomach roiled and he had to sit down. 

What had even happened? He had been fighting Ardyn, how did he end up here again? And how had the chancellor managed to catch the other three so quickly? He shouldn’t have even been outside, there was no way he could have run past them without being noticed! 

All the confusion was giving him a headache. 

Wait! 

He had managed to call the royal arsenal forth despite his diminished stature! He had done it out of pure rage and worry, so he tried again now. He was definitely scared enough for his best friends. Straining, all that he managed to do was make himself vomit. 

Wiping off his mouth, he went back to the window. He intended to warp, but he was too exhausted. Noctis walked back to the bed feeling like the worst person in the world. He was forced to choose resting, he rationalized. He couldn’t save his friends while he felt like this. A quick nap would recharge him enough to get out and find them. “Please. Be okay, guys.” 

As he fell asleep he realized he hadn’t even tried turning the doorknob. How could he have overlooked the obvious solution? Oh well, when he woke up...

-o-

Prompto opened his eyes. “Uuuugh. Where?” Reluctantly pulling himself up, he realized that he was still in the house they’d been trapped in. It looked exactly like the other rooms, so he figured he was in one of the spaces they hadn’t chosen. “Noct? Ignis? Gladio?” 

No answer. 

He had been running, and Noct had shouted to scatter… What was he doing back here? He remembered seeing the chancellor in front of him, but he didn’t remember the chancellor grabbing him. But he must have? If he was back here then he must have been caught… but how???

Prompto tried opening the door. The lock was facing his side, so he turned it without expecting such a simple step to work. Miraculously, it creaked and slowly swung outwards. He cautiously crept into the hall. It was bright, so it couldn’t have been much later than when the birthday failure had started. 

Oh man. 

Ardyn was probably going to be super angry. 

Pushing the thought aside, Prompto kept going towards their original room. He didn’t hear anybody else and briefly worried that he’d been left alone in here. Maybe they really had been separated this time? 

Arriving, he knocked on the door. “Guys?” 

No answer. 

He opened it. 

Noctis was on the bed, sleeping. “Noct!” Prompto rushed over. “Noct, wake up!” Pushing on the royal shoulder drew forth a moan. As his friend dragged his eyes open Prompto noticed the weird smell. Before he could locate the source Noctis scratched out weary relief. “Prompto? You’re safe. Good. Where are the others?” 

Noctis smiled, and a tear rolled out of his eye, but he didn’t sit up. He still felt like crap. Prompto clambered up onto the bed and lay next to Noctis so he wouldn’t have to look up to talk. “I don’t know. I woke up alone in the room next to this one. Maybe they’re in the other rooms?” 

“When I feel better we’ll go check.” Noctis hesitated. “But what if they’re hurt?” 

“I’ll go look and then come right back. You stay here.” Prompto didn’t want to wander alone and leave Noctis vulnerable, but they’d have a better chance facing the next obstacle as a group of four. Before he departed he brushed some black hair away from blue eyes. Noctis definitely needed help with whatever came next, and Prompto’s heart ached to see his companion so pained. As he slid off the bed he voiced his earlier concern aloud. “I didn’t see Ardyn but he’s probably going to be mad at us.” 

“Who cares, after what he’s put us through?”

“Yeah. Everything is his fault. If he didn’t do this then we wouldn’t have had to-” The door opened and they both froze. Luckily it was only Ignis. “Oh thank goodness, you two are safe.”

Prompto surged forward and grabbed Ignis’ arm. “You’re okay too, right? No injuries?”

“I am unharmed, simply confused. How did we get back here? Or rather, how did Ardyn subdue and transport us? I can’t recall anything.” Ignis didn’t like having no answers, but seeing Noctis’ condition made him forget his ire. “You’re ill!”

“Yeah. I am starting to think it’s because of all the magic I’m trying to use.” The king coughed. “Where is Gladio?”

“I did not see him. I was hoping you had.”

“I was just heading out to look for you guys, I’ll go find him.” Prompto’s progress was halted. Ignis shook his head. “No, stay with Noctis. I shall also grab food after locating Gladio.” He was loathe to leave the younger two alone, especially while Noctis was sick, but at least they had each other. 

He left, and Prompto sat back down on the bed to rub Noctis’ back. Ignis returned a few minutes later, looking a bit pale. “I found him, but I think you should see this.” 

They helped their king up to see why Ignis had returned with worry instead of their missing friend. Balanced between his retainers with an arm around each friend, Noctis was able to hobble out of the room. “What’s so bad that you’re shaken, Specs?” 

“You’ll see.” He turned the procession towards the kitchen. Gladio was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. “Hey guys. I saw you were all sleeping earlier, so I came down to get some food… but…” He stepped aside. 

The younger two looked into the kitchen to see why the older two were acting weird. 

Oh…

Oh no.

The room was destroyed. Literally. The table had a huge gash right down the middle. The rest of the uneaten cupcakes were smashed on the floor with what looked like footprints. Some of the chairs were laying in odd angles. One of the legs was broken off. Ardyn’s mug was laying in pieces, but the ceramic chunks were scattered about the room. One cabinet door was ripped off and another was kicked inwards. The refrigerator that held all the food was not holding much anymore, the contents formed a radius of disaster. 

“He did all this?” Noctis’ throat hurt more, suddenly tight. Thankfully the temper tantrum had been aimed at objects instead of his friends and himself. 

“It would appear so.” Ignis cleared his throat. “Prompto, the chair.” 

They helped Noctis sit down in a chair that was still properly oriented, and he leaned against what was left of the table. Hands free, Ignis moved to see what food could be salvaged. Gladio joined him on the floor as Prompto examined the sliced table. “If he used a sword, then he’s had weapons this entire time…” 

“That doesn’t look like a sword slash. More like a scythe slash.” Gladio had practiced with a lot of sharp things while training, so Prompto believed his hypothesis. “We’ve been in a lot more danger then we realized.” 

“I knew he was a threat, but no, not even I imagined him wielding a weapon.” Ignis cursed himself for overlooking such an obvious fact. Of course the man would have something to fight. He was a chancellor of a country at war. Noctis shook his head. “So he was holding back. What could he possibly want us for if he’s had the ability to-“

“Uh, guys? Look!” Prompto was staring out the kitchen window, rapidly paling. “I j-just looked up and-“

Magitek could be seen right outside the window, the robots crowding the house. Now, the men had grown used to their metallic presence but their new appearance was unsettling. 

The others understood why Prompto was shocked. 

There were several magitek missing parts of their faceplates, and a few of them had cracked and flickering eyes. One of them had wires hanging from the eye socket. A couple had arms either ripped off or turned in sharp angles. They hadn’t escaped Ardyn’s wrath. 

“I doubt they will herd us nonviolently if we try to leave now.” Ignis turned back to what he had been doing. “It is just as well, we can’t travel with Noct in this condition.”

“No, if we get the chance to leave then I’ll fight through it.” Noctis rubbed at his eye. “Is there any food that is still edible?” 

Prompto went to grab the broom. “We should probably clean up. What if he comes back and sees we didn’t do anything?” Gladio scoffed. “Yeah, he’ll throw a bigger fit.” 

They slowly picked up the pieces, returning the room to order as much as they could after eating what was salvaged. 

-o-

The boys didn’t see their warden until the evening. They had wasted the afternoon fixing his mess, so that combined with the stress of not knowing his current mood… Ardyn didn’t exactly receive a welcome party. Not that it mattered. The man waltzed in like nothing had happened. He was carrying several bags and he dropped them on the floor in front of the crew while they were eating their dinner.

“I’m sure you can come up with a new ‘recipeh’. It is Kujata meat, and I suggest you put it away now before it thaws.” Ardyn picked up the chair with the broken leg. The boys hadn’t been able to do anything with it. “Ah, I should have procured a replacement. Oh well.”

Ignis left Noct’s side to deal with the meat. “Some of this looks charred.”

“Is it? I was sure I used an ice spell on one of them… Maybe it was the first one. I don’t know, I simply can’t recall.” Ardyn was too flippant, too relaxed. Prompto shifted uncomfortably. How many had the chancellor killed if he couldn’t even remember what he had used to attack? How many lay there, probably rotting, because he wouldn’t have been able to carry them back? Why had he even brought what he had? Noctis’ stomach churned again at the smell as Ignis carried it past him. 

Gladio figured it was time to go. It was somehow more dangerous that Ardyn wasn’t still angry. “May we be excused for bed, your chancellor-ness?”

“No need for formalities. You’ve already proven nothing is sacred anymore.” Hmm, so he was still sore about the birthday surprise. The four shakily retreated to their cell of a room. Prompto was the first to break the silence. “He seemed… different.”

“It is worrying. What is he planning?” Ignis took off his glasses to anxiously scrub at a smudge on the lens. Noctis lay down, but for once didn’t feel tired. “He didn’t seem all there, like his mind was somewhere else. Whatever. I’m just happy he didn’t attack.”

“He was probably hopped up on adrenaline all day, and he crashed now.” Gladio knew the feeling. It was like working out all day and then coming home to sit on the couch. It tended to leave him a little spacey too, relishing in the burn of pushing his body to the limit. ”Still, we don’t know what he will do tomorrow. We need to stay on our guard.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to see him in action.” Prompto didn’t want to personally see what weapon he had used to chop the table. The chancellor was a big man, and he could easily hurt them if he wanted. It was a miracle he hadn’t already. Well, physically, at least. The mental stress of being trapped wasn’t exactly a day at the spa. As they readied for bed the men slowly realized that the room was getting colder. “Did somebody open the window?” 

“No, Prompto, no one has even been over there. Can you pass the blanket, though?” Noctis’ request was completed right before they saw her. Gentiana hadn’t opened any doors or made any noise to announce her arrival. “Oh Chosen, your message has been received.”

Prompto wasn’t proud of his startled squeak, but nobody commented. Noctis sat up to address their visitor. “Umbra made it to you safely?”

“The Messenger brought news of your plight, the Oracle implored that I seek your whereabouts.” Gentiana actually opened her eyes. “The trial is still being completed?” 

“Yes, we’re still stuck here like this. Can you speak with whichever astral did this?” Noctis knew he was being a bit too blunt but he wanted this ordeal to be over, damn it. 

“It is not possible to alter the decision that has been made, lest another Astral War be provoked.” Gentiana seemed regretful about this piece of news. Ignis dared to ask a separate question. “Is it possible for us to leave Ardyn’s care?”

“Would such a transition be wise, oh youths? The empire’s watchful eye has been turned away, distracted by the lies of the one it erringly trusts.” Gentiana seemed to know that the small comfort of being hidden was not enough. “Where shall the Chosen go? The Oracle precedes the meeting with the astrals, unable to provide asylum for her beloved.”

“I know I can’t ask anymore from Luna. She’s already doing more than enough for me. But… We can’t stay here. He’s threatened my friends already and it is only a matter of time before he follows through. I don’t want to lose them.” Noctis knew that his poor companions were simply being used as pawns for the chancellor’s sick game. Just because he didn’t know the rules or the goal didn’t mean he didn’t know the consequences of not playing along. 

Any further conversation was interrupted by knocking. The action itself was pointless, because Ardyn didn’t wait for permission to come in. “Take them.”

He strode right up to one of his other headaches, and begged the woman to help. “I will collect them later when it is time, but for now they need to leave. He’s too much like… Well. They all resemble…” 

Gentiana stared at Ardyn as he tried to complain without giving any information. The more the boys knew, the harder it would be to lead them to the end. He’d do it though, no matter what it took. He was so tired, they had to do it. “I just want to see her again.”

“The prophecy shall come to pass.” Gentiana offered this small comfort to one who had been kept from his love. She knew that particular pain all too well. 

The boys stayed silent during this exchange, hoping that they’d get to walk out of here. Gentiana hadn’t forgotten about them though. “Unhappy as the king may be the youths are free from the worry of daemons and monsters, save one. The decision to remove you from the trial is not mine to make, the completion determined by the actions of those involved.”

“No! I need them gone, but safe! I can’t take much more of your divine torture!” 

Gentiana disappeared, and Ardyn looked at his charges. He walked to the doorway and stopped. Without turning, he addressed them. “Leave if you wish. It doesn’t matter. I cannot control the Astral’s whim.”

The crystalline blue engulfed the four once more. The deep, otherworldly voice that had started this whole mess returned. “The Usurper has finally realized his place. The True King and his knights three are relieved of this most arduous task.”

The men were so happy to be their correct sizes again. Ardyn walked away before they could summon weapons, not in the mood to duel. They wasted no time. Prompto shoved his camera back into the armiger, Noctis gathered their jackets, Ignis double-checked to make sure they had all their belongings, and Gladio guarded the door. Ardyn could change his mind and send the magitek to clean up at any moment. 

“It seems anti-climactic that he’s just letting us go.” Prompto’s head was still on a swivel, ready for the potential attack. Noctis waved dismissively. “We’ll see him again. Let’s go, we’ve been here long enough.”

“First order of business is tracking down the car.” Ignis was already back on track, and Gladio nodded. “Let’s actually leave before we return to business.”

-o-

Ardyn was waiting outside with one of the airships on standby. His false bravado was back, as if the odd chapter of them living with him had never happened. “Let’s not dawdle, gentlemen. You’re supposed to be at the Chocobo Post by now.”

They entered the airship for lack of transportation. It seemed that they really were just going to ignore what occurred, because the ride was silent. 

Ardyn’s scowl as they departed was the only form of closure.


End file.
